Here are today's headlines:

In wake of Friday ceremony, Hampshire College graduates 214 online

AMHERST - After a year of remote and in-person learning, COVID-19 restrictions and required weekly testing for all students, Hampshire College officially graduated its class of 2021 on Saturday.The ceremony honored 214 students who graduated from Hampshire this year. Although the college operated wi...

Roy Martin announces 10th run for mayor

NORTHAMPTON - When Roy Martin announced he was running for mayor in 2017, it was his ninth - and at the time he said his last - bid for the corner office at City Hall. His name never made it onto the ballot that year. But this spring, he took out nomination papers and has announced his 10th run for...

Amherst senior is a U.S. Presidential Scholar

AMHERST - Back in January, high school senior Arden Lloyd was a finalist in a national competition that rewards promising young artists with prize money and opportunities for professional development support.Now Lloyd has been named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, one 161 high school seniors chosen fro...

New program to make broadband more affordable

A national program enabling eligible households to save up to $50 a month on their broadband bill went live Wednesday.The Emergency Broadband Benefit is available to those who meet its parameters. Some of the qualifying conditions are if a household member makes 135% or below the federal poverty gui...

Chesterfield voters OK museum repairs

CHESTERFIELD - Voters at Saturday's annual Town Meeting chose to fund repairs to the Edwards Museum and decided to table an article that would have put a buffer between the Historic District and wireless communications facilities.Select Board Chairman Roger Fuller said the meeting took about 3½ hour...

Guest columnist Eve Endicott: Why I went with a plug-in hybrid car

Not quite ready for an electric vehicle? Consider a plug-in hybrid for your next car - I'm an early adopter!I hope to eventually own a fully electric vehicle and don't want to discourage others from buying one. When faced with the need for a new car, however, I determined I wasn't ready to give up...

Columnist Sara Weinberger: Fixing our health care malady

Most of us can recall a health care trauma that continues to haunt us. In December 2019, Timothy Snyder's health care nightmare started with abdominal pain that landed him in a Munich, Germany hospital, where he was discharged without a diagnosis the next morning.Twelve days later, he underwent an...

Chalk talk with erin feldman: Confront biases to make better art

Turbulent emotional states are a crucial aspect of creativity - artists thrill at the shock of inspiration when great ideas come, as much as we are sated when the balm of resolution and solution ebb upon finishing a project.We hanker for this sine wave to curve our pens, paintbrushes, and pointe sho...

Fork and Spade: A community food digest for May

One thing your Fork and Spade moderator loves about putting this column together is that while this monthly feature is always about food access and sustainability, there are so many different and innovative ways people are approaching these issues that there's always something new and interesting...